1/48th Revell Fokker DVII

[dylan the rabbit]

I built this at the end of last year, but thought I'd post the build shots here as a critique.

I feel almost ashamed of it in comparison to some of the brilliant work posted up here, so look on it as a chance to tell me what I could have done better please!

This is a really basic kit. The molds date back to the Aurora/Monogram kit from the 50's, and not much has changed. It's very basic, and you have to do a lot of scratch building to make it look halfway decent.

For the cockpit, Revell provide a crappy old instrument panel that's wholly inaccurate and a seat, and that's it. There are many more errors in the kit. Work started on the cockpit as usual.



So, with loads of research, I made the flooring out of plastic phone card, sidewall framing from guitar strings, the control stick and fuel pump from stretched sprue, control wires from guitar string, pedals from wire. The instrument panel is, again, phone card, with a couple of (inaccurate for this build but what the hell) Mike Grant decals, plastic card and guitar strings again. The seatbelts are painted medical tape, and the buckles are cut up kitchen foil.

The two large dials were made from slivers of sprue, and then painted.



The interior was pre-sprayed in doped linen.

The engine's pretty basic, and I didn't bother with superdetailing it, as it's mostly hidden anyway. I thought I'd try a rusty look to the exhaust, and dry brushed a mix of black and copper on it.



Wing rib preshading was done, and the whole lot sprayed white.



There's a bar that crosses the cockpit over the instrument panel, on top of which sits a dial, so the guitar string bar and sprue dial were superglued in.





More to follow.

Cheers,

Nick

[dylan the rabbit]

I finished the cockpit as much as I could be be bothered to do.

I made the throttle lever out of guitar strings, sprue and white glue for the knob.



I added a little compass on the other side of the cockpit, and that's where I leave it. It's all so ruddy small and mostly hidden anyway!



I made an ammo box from a bit of telephone cable wall plug, and glued it on to the Spandaus, which still needed a bit of work before spraying. I also made the feeders out of sprue. The guns were shite, but at that stage, I wasn't going to go after market or make anything. They did.



I had to fill a gap that was ahead of the guns. For some reason, Revell think it's there, when all diagrams and walkarounds I've seen prove the contrary. So, I lopped a bit of biro lid off, and superglued that in place so when she was all closed up, there was something there to slap the filler on. As it so happens, there was then enough room for the Spandaus and the ammo box between that and the instrument panel.



The rudder and rear wings refused to fit, and needed shimming. I got the undercarraige on using the one in the kit. Using the locator points as is, the legs would splay out, so I carved in new points on the skid and voila.



The top wing was a Fokker to put on. The struts were all different lengths, and needed cutting in places. The wing was hardly a perfect fit, but it's on and straight. One of the struts isn't, so I don't photograph it straight on!

More to follow.

Cheers,

Nick

[dylan the rabbit]

The rest of the build was pretty straightfoward.

The prop was the one from the kit, and sprayed in doped linen, and then brushed over with oils. The hub was then painted and drybrushed.

The kit was covered in a couple of coats of Klear, and then decaled. A few guitar strings were used for control wires and bracing, and once the wheels were painted, that was about it.

Herman Goerings Fokker DVII.













(After I finished it, I did retouch around the wheel hubs, as I finished this one in a rush for a group build).

Thanks for looking, and all comments and critiques welcome.

Cheers,

Nick

[Rob_Owens]

Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear! Your building and scratch detailing skills are obviously up to snuff. Can't wait to see what you accomplish with a decent kit!

[bobs_buckles]

Originally Posted by Rob_Owens

Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear! Your building and scratch detailing skills are obviously up to snuff. Can't wait to see what you accomplish with a decent kit!

Hello Nick,
Welcome aboard the aerodrome! It's great to have you on here me old mate.

Rob is right, you have made a fine model out of a pony kit.
What will you build next?

Von buckle

[dylan the rabbit]

Cheers fellas.

Not sure what I'm going to build next.

I'm in a bit of a modelling enthusiasm slump at the moment, and when that goes (soon hopefully), I have to clear the bench of a Boulton Paul Defiant, Concorde, P47, Spitfire and two Hurricanes. I won't be tackling anything else before then.

However, having just bought the Aeroclub biplane assembly wing jig, I'm kind of keen to try it out.

I did start an Aeroclub RE8 at the end of last year, so I might crack that one out again.

TTFN.

Nick

[trackpad]

Hello, Nick,

And welcome to the Aerodrome! Overall, very nice work on Goering's aircraft. I was particularly interested in your use of guitar strings: I must try that approach on a future build.

I hope that you will not take this suggestion a a criticism. From all accounts, it appears that this particular a/c was covered with lozenge pattern fabric, and then painted white. That means that the lozenge pattern would show in the cockpit area, albeit reversed (seen from the backside) and paler in tone than the exterior (it being printed on the side showing externally). As well, Goering, suffering from early stages of arthritis, had a few modifications made to the cockpit area to help him mount and dismount more easily.

All to say that there is a great deal of information on this forum (which has helped me immeasurably over the past almost three years). As I say, not a criticism (your workmanship is right up there!), but only an attempt to advise you regarding the wealth of information here.

Again, welcome to the 'Drome. I look forward to your future builds!

[dylan the rabbit]

Cheers trackpad.

No offence taken at all. It's all good criticism, and makes me a better modeller!

Thanks for the reply.

Nick

[Tom W.]

Personally, I have no criticisms to make, because whatever "flaws" there are in this model are in the kit, not the modeler.

Your technique is exceptional. The model doesn't look toylike at all, so I really don't have much to say, other than great job. Some people have the touch, and others don't. You have the touch.

If you decide to build a better kit from Eduard or Rodan, you'll end up with a better model. Lots of research will help you avoid pitfalls such as painting the interior the wrong color.

In the end, modeling should be a pleasure. So be happy! You've already got the skills.

(As a fan of the old Aurora kits, I'd like to see your buildup of the Halberstadt CL.II.)

[Tom W.]

Oh, and here's a trick for painting wheels:

Get yourself one of these plastic circle templates from a stationary store.

Circle Templates - Drafting Templates

Paint the wheel, not worrying about getting the tires and hubs perfect. Make sure that any overlap is on the hub and not the tire. You want the tires completely painted.

Then paint some decal sheet (clear or white or whatever is cheapest) the color you want the hub, and after it's dry use the template and a hobby knife with a new No. 11 blade to cut out disks the size of the hubs. Apply the disks with plenty of solvent. This will give you perfectly delineated lines between the hubs and tires.

When the decal is dry, give the wheels a gloss coat, and after it's dry apply a very dark-brown wash (oil paint and turps is best) in the delineation between hub and tire. Use a small brush and a rag to instantly soak up excess wash.

If the hub is very conical, you may have to cut a slit in the disk, from the edge to the center, which will allow the decal to snuggle down and dry without an unsightly wrinkle in one side.